Acclimation
by Seashell 712
Summary: After an accident her freshman year of high school, Liz's life takes a turn as she battles with its repercussions, high school, and some west coast bad guys. Being an incognito vigilante isn't easy and getting there alone is no piece of cake.
1. Chapter 1

Panting, heavy breathing, sweating hands and forehead. White knuckles that clenched around the sack filled with loot from the jewelry shop. The man in jeans and oversized back sweater crouched behind the concrete wall. He tore off his ski mask and rested his head against the divider. He glanced around the empty parking structure and smiled. He laughed and opened his sack of earnings picking out gold pendants and silver chains and bejeweled earrings. He thinks that he won, he thinks that he got off…well, give him his fifteen seconds of glory…give him fifteen seconds of pride.

CLICK

A light at the farthest end of the parking level switched off. The thief's brown eyes looked at the cement wall then darted up and down between the light and the wires above it. A second later the light hummed back on. The man stared for a few seconds more then looked back into his sack.

CLICK CLICK

The far wall of the structure darkened. The entire row of florescent lights went out. The guy stopped again. CLICK. Shadows covered the floor in front of the wall as the next row went out. CLICK. The next row went out. CLICK. As did the next. He began to shake as the lights went off and shadows crept closer. CLICK CLICK CLICK. The man clutched the black sack as sections of floor disappeared into darkness. CLICK. Three rows left. CLICK. Two rows left. CLICK. One row left. CLICK. The entire level of the parking structure was black. The man shook as only one florescent light remained over his head. As it swung back and forth the metal strings squeaked. His breathing was hurried again as his eyes darted around in the darkness trying to make out anything.

"Where are you?" he began in a shaky whisper. I made no answer. His hands shook as he screamed "WHERE ARE YOU?" He pulled out a gun and fired into the darkness; the bullets panged as they ricocheted off of the cement and tanged as they hit metal. After a few moments he stopped his fire and the echo of gunfire disappeared. He began to fire his gun again but after two shots the gun clicked. It was empty. The only sound now was the squeak of the old light above him. "Where…are you…" he whispered for the last time. CLICK. The last light above him flickered out. The light squeaked and the man breathed heavily. He was horrified...I could hear it. I lowered myself behind the thief and whispered,

"_Here._"


	2. Nutcase Vigilante

I sighed as I came into my room and my feet landed on the floor. As I pulled off my mask and threw it on the floor I heard a door open in the hallway. I stopped and quickly jumped under the covers of my bed. The moment that I closed my eyes I heard the door to my room open. I heard footsteps on the floor of my room. They moved towards my window then towards my closet. I rolled onto my other side, pretending like I was sleeping, and watched through squinted eyes I saw my older brother Brent walking back to my door. He backed out slowly and shut the door behind him. I sat up, got out of bed, and looked at my clock. It was 4:22 in the morning, and I had to be at work at 8. Great…three and a half hours of sleep…again. I gazed over at my window and saw that it was open; my brother must have opened it for me. He was great like that.

I pulled off my spandex shirt and pants and slipped on a nice loose pair of pajamas. As I sat on my bed my stomach growled loudly; I rolled my eyes as I said to myself, _'Fine…' _and reached into my nightstand and grabbed out a pack of Saltine crackers. As I lay back in bed, snacking on crackers, I thought, _'Geeze, it's a miracle that I'm not a walrus after all the food I eat!'_ I sighed as I put more crackers into my mouth. _'That's not the only thing that's a wonder, is it?'_ I reached over to my nightstand grabbed my clicker. I turned on my television and flipped through the channels.

""Have we got a deal for you! Come on down"-BUZZ-"Now, you let that marinate for about two or three"-BUZZ-"Mrs. Brown, I'm afraid it's fatal."-BUZZ-"Chi Wei, I'll save this town and obliterate the Crimson Snake if it's the last thing"-BUZZ-"It broke!" "How could it break?" "I bought it in the seventh grade…"-BUZZ-"apprehended tonight was the near infamous thief Morgan Riley." I paused. "Officials found Morgan Riley tied to the top of a street lamp on the corner of 3rd Street and Broadway just outside Grand Central Market downtown. Now to Midge Harjung with more: Midge?" The camera changed from an orange looking newsman to an Asian woman wearing a red suit.

"Thanks Mike. Tonight the man connected to multiple robberies up and down the west coast was finally apprehended; however, not by local or state officials." The camera changed to a black and white security tape showing the man in jeans and sweater cleanly cutting through the glass of the case; he began to grab jewelry out of the case when suddenly he flew backward as if an invisible force was punching him. _'I remember that!'_ I thought. "This security tape from the jewelry store can only demonstrate the level of mystery surrounding Riley's apprehension." Cut to a bewildered citizen.

"The guy came running out of the store and this girl in black jumped out of the wall!" Cut to a woman.

"That thing in black flew to the parking structure and then FLEW inside of it. THROUGH THE WALL!"

"All witness accounts relay the similar story of this mystery girl. It has been reported that she goes under the alias: 'Windigo' and her sightings are just as mysterious as she is. When police arrived there was no sign of the ghost girl, yet multiple witnesses reported seeing her. Do these accounts have any relation to the other similar sightings at other recent apprehensions? Commissioner Eric Skobin had this to say." Cut to a young, attractive man with dark brown hair and a tan jacket.

"As of now there is no tangible evidence that this 'Windigo' actually apprehended Morgan Riley or any of the other thieves…or if _she_ actually exists. This is simply another case of a nutcase vigilante relying on theatrics and stunts to manipulate the good people of Los Angeles. We are not fooled and will not tolerate anyone taking the law into their own hands."

'_Talk about a tough cookie…geeze everyone's a critic.'_ I thought to myself as the newscast continued. "For now Morgan Riley has been incarcerated and will be prosecuted; as for the Windigo, well I guess we'll just have to wait for next time. Back to you Mike."

"Thanks Midge. In other news, the Teen Titans prevented a deadly power plant explosion and in that saved a small town. There was no evidence of foul play or arson; however, local authorities expressed their thanks to the Titans by presenting"-BUZZ. I turned off the TV as the newscaster was about to explain how "local authorities" were singing the Teen Titan's praises again. _'Gosh, why can't I have it like that?'_ I wondered. _'I've worked hard enough, don't I deserve it? Honestly, if the cops got that close to me they'd give me anything BUT a trophy.'_ Not that I disliked the Teen Titans or their cause or anything, I was just jealous because they had the authorities blessing while I was a "nutcase vigilante". I slid into my sheets and pulled the covers up over my shoulders as I thought, _'Oh well, for now I just can't get caught…ever…God, I'm really going to need a better plan…'_

I didn't always debate over things like this. Once I worried about boys and my career future…and boys…point is, I was normal once. My "nutcase vigilante" life began during high school…two years ago when I was a freshman and too curious and hungry for my own good. I didn't have many friends because I was shy and chubby…hey, who isn't awkward in their high school years? Not only did I have enormous shoes to fill with my older brother but I was just plain nervous! Seniors were always over at my house, senior boys and girls who were buddy-buddy with Brent and knew who I was but wouldn't acknowledge me at school. I wasn't like them; I was fat, different, and worst of all Brent's little sister.

I almost attempted suicide the summer before high school started. I was home alone and sick of being laughed at and looked down on: by my "friends", my classmates, but worst of all by my brother and his high school friends. I stood in my kitchen with the point of the knife just resting on my sternum, I was waiting for the instant to come where I would push the knife into my chest and put myself out of my misery. I didn't do it, obviously; a moment came and I just dropped the knife and began to sob my eyes out. I couldn't do it. Something wouldn't let me; all I wanted was a change, a new way of living for me. Well…since then I've learned to be careful what you wish for.


	3. Plagiarism and Porn

I walked into the class and looked around for an empty seat. I saw a table with only one person there: Sheila Armstrong. I had classes with her in the eighth grade; stereotypical popular girl: tight fitting, trendy clothes, bold highlights in her dark brown hair, massive amounts of eye make-up, and a personality that would make rotten cheese look friendly. I looked around the rest of the room in desperation but saw no other seats. I walked up to her table and asked in a friendly voice,

"Hey, is anybody sitting here?" She looked up from her pink fingernails and gave me a glare that screamed _'What do you think fatty?' _She didn't answer me. "Can I sit there?"

"Umm, no." She said strongly then looked down at her nails. She then pointed to the very back where the "weird" kids sat. "There's a spot back there." I looked at her in disbelief; I couldn't believe or understand how someone could be so nasty. I challenged her,

"It doesn't look like anybody's sitting there and I can't really see in the back; can I please…" I stopped talking. Sheila Armstrong looked at me with a look so condescending that you would have thought that she was beyond disgusted by my presence. "Well, thanks…" I finished quietly and walked to the table in the back where a special education student sat with a teacher. As I walked I heard the door to the classroom open and three or four other kids came in. I heard them greet Sheila and laugh. When I sat down I heard them saying,

"Brent broke up with Kelly! Did you hear? She totally dumped him after he caught her cheating with some guy!"

"Kelly is such a skank. I totally knew that would happen."

"Poor Brent, I bet he's heart broken."

"He is such a sweet heart! How could anybody do that to him?"

"I wonder what happened to his sister…"

"What do you mean?"

"How could someone so annoying be related to such an awesome guy?"

"I don't know, maybe their genetics are all weird or something…"

"Is she adopted?"

I wanted to cry my eyes out, right there at that table. I had already gone through hell and back with the counselors to get this period of ceramics but if I was going to have to deal with their petty, ignorant crap everyday of this semester then it wasn't worth it. I walked outthe back doorof the classroom and wentto the counseling office. I could feel my eyes stinging asthey welled upwith tears; I was going to drop that damned art class, I didn't need it. My schedule was so filled up with honors courses that having only six classes instead of seven would help a lot with managing my time.

I finally left the attendance office after explaining what happened to Mrs. Fernandez; I dropped the class and now it was the end of the day. How nice, now that I had no last period I could go home early...but not today. Today I had to stay after school for the first Spanish and drama club meeting of the year. If I was lucky I would get home around nine and I wasn't too happy about having to walk home. I climbed the stairs and retreated into the library. After collapsing on a squashy couch by the row of computers I covered my eyes with my hand.

"Liz!" someone whispered. I looked and saw Mike sitting at a near by computer; I sighed in relief as he asked, "What's the matter with you? Was your day worse than mine?"

"Probably not." I whispered back. "I'm tired. What happened to you?" Mike tapped a few keys on the keyboard, double clicked his mouse, then came and sat next to me.

"Dylan text my cell today during third. It said: 'We need to talk. Call me ASAP.' So I text him back saying okay and that I'd call him during lunch. So I call him during lunch and he says that he wants to break up! You know why?"

"I bet you're going to tell me." I replied.

"He said I was too feminine, that it was way too easy to see that I was a fag!" I cringed a little; I didn't like the word "fag". "That's why he stopped doing things with me in public! He thought it was too obvious that we were a gay couple! I was making him uncomfortable!"

"Oh my God…" I whispered in disbelief.

"I KNOW!" He said in his normal voice. The librarian looked over and shushed us. I rolled my eyes as Mike waved and whispered loudly, "Sorry!" he turned back to me and continued, "I think that it's retarded and totally immature of him."

"I do too." I agreed, "I mean, how old is he, 17? 18? And he's acting like he's still closeted or something!"

"I _know_…" He agreed.

"You shouldn't even give him a second thought Mike. If he isn't comfortable with…with himself then he's not mature enough for a relationship: straight OR gay…"

"Exactly." He said in his normal voice as he collapsed against the back of the couch. Angrier shushing from the librarian, "SORRY! Sorry!" Mike feigned his apology and rolled his eyes. He looked back to me then said, "Who the hell does that fag think he is? Honestly…" I gazed around the library as Mike spoke. "I know you're right, Liz, totally and completely; he isn't worth my time…but that's not going to help me get over him any faster."

"It never does." I whispered back.

"Tell me about it." There was a longer moment of silence before Mike asked, "What happened to you?

"High school happened to me, stupid teen age girls happened to me."

"Oh honey…" Mike said, "I'm so sorry." Pause. "You haven't gone lesbian on me have you?" I laughed as I replied,

"No!"

"Good. Because the dyke look just wouldn't have worked for you." I laughed as Mike explained further, "You see, homosexuality is like cheap Prada…" I smiled and whispered,

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind next time I want to make out with a girl." Mike laughed and whispered,

"Good for you honey." After our giggles went away we were silent again. All I heard was the sounds of flipping pages and typing keys. The silence was broken when Mike asked,

"Am I really that feminine?"

"Yes."

"God dammit…" Mike said in his normal voice once more.

"Mr. Ward!" Said an angry librarian. "I have warned you twice and this is the third time I have had to remind you. Please be quiet!"

"You know what?" Mike replied in an even louder voice, stunning everyone. "There is a grand total of 6 people in this entire library. Yourself, myself, my friend here, those girls," he pointed to a nearby table where two girls sat watching, "and that guy." He indicated a boy who was staring at the computer screen. "Those girls are copying from the encyclopedia for their research paper and that guy is looking at porn while my friend is trying to console me because my retard boyfriend just broke up with me for no practical reason. Now," the boy was now staring in embarrassment and awe at Mike, as were the girls at the table and I. "compared to plagiarism and masturbation…" He looked to the boy and said, "I'd certainly hope you have more tact than that, but seeing that your fly is currently open…I guess you don't." the boy looked down and as he quickly zipped up his pants Mike continued, "speaking in my normal voice during such a meaningful conversation isn't such a crime…is it Mrs. Green?" Mrs. Green crossed her arms and replied slyly,

"Mr. Ward, taking into consideration all that you've said…your tone and your diction when addressing an adult leaves much to be desired. So when it comes to punishing you, compared to in school suspension, giving you a lunch detention isn't so bad…is it Mr. Ward?"


	4. Voices on the Water

Five minutes later Mike and I walked out of the school. "Meh meh meh, blah blah blah, lunch detention isn't so bad, is it Mr. Ward?" Mike mimicked Mrs. Green bitterly. "Who does she think she is? What a bitch…" I shook my head and said,

"Listen, you were the one who talked back. Just let it go. At least it's only one lunch detention; it could have been three." I watched Mike look over the little white piece of paper in his hand. He then huffed and stuffed it into his pocket.

"You're right. This is beneath me. I need to see the drama people, they'll make me happy again." I laughed as I replied,

"Right…right after they eat you alive."

"It's a funny ole' world isn't it?" Mike quoted. As we laughed I realized how much I loved Michael Ward. He had been my best friend since the sixth grade and he meant the world to me.

We walked down to the small sandwich place just off campus. As we walked inside I smelt the warmed sandwiches and smiled.

"God, I love eating here." I said to Mike. Mike was looking around as he replied hesitantly,

"Uh, really? Well, it seems nice."

"What isn't there to love about this place?" I asked as we walked to the counter. "It's privately owned, homemade food, no MSG…it's wonderful." Mike looked at me skeptically and said,

"Liz, while this place is many, many things, I wouldn't say that wonderful is one of them."

"How are you doing today?" Asked the clerk from behind the counter. I looked and smiled as I replied,

"We're great."

"Yes…yes we are." Mike said in a dismissive voice.

"What can I get for you folks?" he asked as he took out a pad of paper and a pen. I scanned over the menu above the counter one last time before I ordered.

"Give me a Philly cheese steak please with a large…orange soda." The guy wrote down my order as he asked,

"Anything else?" Mike replied,

"Actually I have a question, do you serve anything here that isn't fried or saturated in grease?" I looked in embarrassed shock at Mike as the guy answered slowly,

"Yeah…the veggie sandwich…"

"Alright then I'll have that." Mike said quickly. "With a water." The guy looked back at me with restrained enthusiasm. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's it." The man scratched some math on the pad.

"For here or to-go?" he asked.

"To-go." Mike said. The man looked up at Mike with disdain as he told us.

"$9.68." He then went back to make our food. I turned to Mike and said,

"You know it's attitudes like that that people get loogies in their food."

"Listen, I'm paying for this sandwich and I want to be informed of what I'm buying with my parents money!" Mike replied, flabbergasted that I would question his judgment.

"Mike, take it from someone who's worked fast food. It's not about what YOUthink. It's about what they think."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike asked. I took a breath and said,

"It means that when YOU ask questions, it gets people upset…and then they spit in your food." We both glanced over at the man making the sandwiches; he was an older guy in his fifties and made eye contact with Mike and me. Mike took a step back and leaned against the counter; he said,

"Liz, he's like sixty. He _can't_ spit in people's food: he'll lose his dentures or something." The guy walked over and handed us our food; we stood up, paid and left the shop as quickly as possible.

Mike and I ate our dinner back in the cafeteria. When we were done it was 4:30 and our drama meeting was about to start. We went to the auditorium and listened to speeches about how the drama department is impartial and doesn't play favorites to anyone. We left the auditorium two hours later mentally exhausted and never wanting to see a stage again. I waited with Mike till his mom came and picked him up. Mike went home I went to the Spanish club meeting. It was pathetic: some white stumpy woman ran the club and could barely put two words together in English let alone speak the Spanish language. When the meeting was over I felt like I wasted hours of my life just because my father wanted me to have extra curricular activities on my college applications. I stood by the doors putting the last of my things into my bag when lightening flashed in the window. I stopped, looked out the window and thought, _'Well, this will be an interesting walk home…'_ I put my hoodie in my backpack took a deep breath as I walked out the door.

It wasn't a long walk to my house, maybe a mile and a half at most; however, walking alone at night made it seem a lot longer. I walked along the busy street trying to keep aware. _'Stupid Brent.'_ I thought. I had to walk home because he told dad he was "working"; he wasn't working, he was at a party making out with skanky sophomores. I couldn't tell dad about Brent lying or else Brent would ruin my home life, as I knew it.

Most of my friends had no brothers and they always told me how they'd kill for an older brother, especially and older brother like the famous "Brent Daniels": football and basketball star, president of student council, straight A student, and "totally popular". HA…little did they know. Most people tend to overlook the darker aspects of their idols. Sure he was smart but obsessive with a serious anger problem and enough mood swings to keep a circus busy. Sometimes I felt genuinely scared of him, I mean, he was a lot bigger and taller than me and when he got mad he was unpredictable. When we fought my dad would have to intervene so I wouldn't end up with a black eye.

BOOM. Thunder rumbled loudly and I got the chills. I rubbed my cold arms with my hands then pulled out my hoodie and slipped it on. As my head was inside the darkness of my hoodie I heard splashing water close by, as if someone was running through puddles. When my head popped out of the hoodie I looked around. Beside me was a large concrete storm drain and it looked like someone ran through the stagnant puddles. I shrugged and continued to walk until I heard someone shout.

"Lizzie!" At first I thought I heard someone, but I shrugged it off; I assumed it was my imagination. "Elizabeth!" It called again; the voice was a girl's and sounded extremely familiar, almost like my mother's voice; it seemed to come from the drain. I looked and thought, _'Okay, there is no possible way mom is down in that ditch…just keep walking.'_ I turned on my heel and walked until I heard it one more time: "Liz come down here!" I stopped, stared for a while at the concrete ditch, then left the sidewalk and took a few steps toward its edge.

"Hello?" I called down into it. "Is someone down there?" I heard feet moving around in water but no answer. My mind began to work, _'My God, what if it's a stalker? Or a rapist? No, it's couldn't be, that was a girl's voice…could it be a girl rapist? Can girls do that to girls? What if it's Lisa? It sounds a little like her voice…'_ "Lisa? Is that you?" I called down. I didn't hear any response. I looked around one last time as I debated with myself whether or not I should go into the drain. I looked at the large cement outfall as I remembered my father's warnings about the drain: 'After rains, there could be flash floods; the wrong kind of people hang out in those ditches; they leave broken glass and needles and dangerous stuff in those things so don't take that way as the short cut home.' That's what he always told me. A wave of spite passed over me. What did Dad know? Big fat nothing; he couldn't even see through all of Brent's lies about working and school and parties and grades…just to name a few.

With spite-empowered curiosity I walked down the side of the concrete drain. It was a deep, smelly drain full of stagnant, moss-laden puddles and empty pizza boxes. I looked into the outfall; it was the opening to a short pipe that ran under the street and opened on the other side. I could see night at the end of the tunnel but no person inside. "Hello?" I called again. I looked around in circles up and down the cement drain and saw no one. At that point I became frustrated, I was only hearing things…what a waste of my time. I shook my head and turned to run up the steep side of the drain. _'Stop imagining things.' _I told myself,_ 'Let's go home and go to bed.'_ I took my first step to get out of the drain and felt something brush by the side of my foot. I looked down and saw a small box. It didn't look like trash to me…it looked like a gift. It had a pretty little ribbon and a crisp paper tag. Out of curiosity I bent down and looked at the tag, it read: _Elizabeth Nicole Daniels_. I froze; that was my full name. I stood up once more and looked around the drain. There was still no one there. I looked back down to the box; it was no bigger than the palm of my hand. I bent down again to check the tag and it still said my name.

This storm drain was becoming way too eerie for me. Hearing voices, miniature gift boxes with my name on them…I didn't like this. For the last time I squatted down and looked at the tag on the box and it was still addressed to me. That moment I felt water drop on my head and I saw multiple rain drops on the cement; it was beginning to rain. _'DUDE!'_ I thought to myself sarcastically, _'Rain? Honestly, could it get any better?'_ As the rain quickened I pulled my hood over my head and ran up the wall of the drain. I stood at the top for a moment then looked back down in the drain; the little box was still there. Knowing my brain would never forgive me if I didn't, I ran down the side of the drain, slid the box into my front pocket and began home.

I got to my house, soaked from the steadily falling rain, and opened the door. The house was warm; I could feel the goose bumps on my arms beneath my soaked sweater. I took off my shoes and began to walk up the stairs.

"Lizzie? Is that you?" My dad called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's me." I said back. My dad came out from the kitchen with a kitchen towel and wet pan.

"You're soaked!"

"Yeah, yeah I am." I said with a roll of my eyes. I shivered as my dad said,

"Listen, I'm sorry you had to walk in the rain Liz; you're such a trooper for understanding. Brent was working and the truck's in the shop-"

"Yeah, no prob dad." I interrupted. "Listen, I'm really cold and I need to take a hot bath okay?" My dad paused as I continued walking up the stairs.

"Okay." He said as I went in my room. "Dinner is downstairs when you're ready!" I dropped my bag on the floor, fell on my bed, and shivered as I rolled into my comforter. _'It's sooooo frickin' coooold.'_ I thought to myself. I sat up pulled off my sweater and threw it against my wall. _'That hot bath sounds so good right now.'_ I got out of bed and went into the bathroom. After the tub filled I got into the water and breathed. _'God what a day.'_ I thought. _'Stupid people, stupid clubs…'_ I looked down at my thighs, _'stupid STUPID me, why did I eat that sandwich…it tasted so great…' _I knew that I had a weight problem. I was constantly reminded that I was thirty pounds over weight every time I put on my size 18 pants, and every time I went shopping for clothes, and anytime I ate anything in my house. I closed my eyes and rubbed my wet hands over my face; I had to stop thinking so negatively. I would go on a diet and stick to it this time, for real.

"Liz…" My eyes opened and I looked around the bathroom. It was the same voice that I heard at the storm drain, but this time it was outside the door and a lot weaker. I sat up, grabbed a towel and as I wrapped it around myself I flung the door open; no one was there. I walked into the hallway and looked in my brother and dad's rooms…no one was there. _'Okay, bath time over.'_ I thought. I drained the tub, grabbed my things out of the bathroom, and went into my room. I put on my pajamas and wrapped the towel around my hair. I jumped onto the bed and stared at the wet sweater on my floor.

"What the hell is going on today?" I asked the wet hoodie. After a few moments I crawled to the edge of my bed and pulled the box out of the wet hoodie. I observed it: the white wrapping paper was now soggy and the black ribbon was crushed. I waited a moment then carefully peeled the ribbon and wet paper off. Beneath the wrapping was a black cube; almost like an oversized die. I sat with the cube in the palm of my hand. _'Oookay…'_ I thought as I stared at the cube. I turned it over and over looking for a lid or something but there was none. I set it in my right palm and stared again. "What kind of joke is this?" I asked the cube. BEEEEEEEEP. I heard the fire alarm go off and I jumped. I clenched the box in my fist as I went to my hallway. The towel fell off my head as I looked up at the fire alarm on the ceiling; the alarm wasn't blinking and wasn't going off. "What?" I asked loudly over the noise when suddenly my right palm stung. "Ow!" I exclaimed and dropped the box. The prolonged beep stopped. I looked at the palm of my hand and saw a small bubble of blood in the center of my palm. I rubbed the spot where the blood was and looked; there was a prick there as if a needle stuck me. I continued to rub the prick then looked at the black box. What I saw next was really amazing, the cube started to vibrate violently on the carpet until it fell apart. I cradled my hand as I watched the box disintegrate; it fell apart like it was made out of black dirt, the pieces disappeared into dust.

"What the hell?" I asked no one as I breathed again. I looked at my hand. _'Did that box prick me? I don't get what just happened…'_ I felt like I couldn't move. That moment Brent walked through the front door.

"I'm home dad!" he shouted as he swaggered in. Oh my god, he was drunk.

"How was work, Brent?" My dad called back.

"Great." He said with a giddy smile as he walked up the stairs. He eyed me holding my hand and said, "Heeey…Lizzie." He laughed and said as he stumbled toward me, "Liz, Liz, Liz…Lizz-IE…" When he got to the top of the stairs he came to me, patted my head and whispered to me, "How's my little…secret-keeper, huh?" I began to open my mouth but that moment I felt a twang of pain in my head and my hands. I didn't reply; I turned, grabbed the towel off the floor and walked into my room. I shut the door behind me as I rubbed my hands together and looked around for my painkillers. I took two and sat on my bed; it was really uncomfortable. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes. "What's going on?" I groaned as I rolled on my side. As I lay on my side my eyelids got heavy and could hardly stay awake. I closed my eyes as my heart raced and I thought, _'God, this hurts…thank God it's Friday.' _I had no idea how thankful I would actually be; I had two whole days of rest after that night, and God knew I'd need them.


	5. The Face in the Mirror

My head felt like a million pounds and my body was achy; every time I swallowed I thought I would suffocate. I squinted at my clock; it was 12:25 in the afternoon. I rolled onto my back, it felt like something got into my body and infected everything it came into contact with: my muscles, joints, bones, throat…everything felt disease ridden. I squeezed my fist and a dull, ripping pain crawled up my arm from my palm. I looked at my hand; the small prick from yesterday was now a swollen, bloody, and blistered mess. I got out of bed and stumbled to my mirror.

"AHHH!" I screamed; my reflection was an inflated discolored monster. Its teeth were jagged and pieces of skin dangled off its face. I stumbled back and fell on the floor as I stared at the mirror. The horrible monster laughed loudly; it was a malevolent, cruel laugh that made me cringe. I watched as it ripped off a piece of dangling face skin and consumed it; I wanted to gag. When it was done it extended its horrible clawed hand beyond the mirror and I smelt rotting skin. It was halfway out when it raised its head and looked me dead in the eyes. Between its teeth was the black cube that I found; it fell to the ground as the monster roared. I opened my mouth to scream…

I sat up quickly and opened my eyes. I was in bed; I looked at my hands and saw they were normally sized and colored. I jumped out of my bed and ran to my mirror; my reflection was a normal me.

"Oh thank God!" I said as I fell back on my bed. I rubbed my temples as I told myself, _'It was just a dream…a really bad dream.'_ I opened my eyes and looked at my ceiling. My headache from last night was gone. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and then I prepared to step on the scale. I had a love hate relationship with my scale: I loved it when it gave me good numbers and hated it when it gave me bad ones. I sighed as I looked down at the numbers: 154 lbs. I got off the scale then paused. "What?" I asked and looked down at the numbers again. "154". Two days ago when I got on the scale it said that I weighed 169 and today I weighed 154? "No way." I left my bathroom and went to my dad's scale. I stepped on it, waited and looked: "153.8" it said. I stepped off and said, "No WAY!" I smiled and began to jump up and down. I didn't know what I did but in a matter of two days I lost over ten pounds!

As I walked out of my parents room my brother came out of his and whined,

"Honest to GOD can you shut up?" I looked at him condescendingly as I replied,

"Why should I? You're the one who came in last night plastered! And it's not my fault you have the hangover from hell." Brent approached me angrily; I cringed as I realized he was only wearing boxers. He said to me,

"You know what? Dad better not be here Liz, or I'm going to-"

"What?" I said back. "What? Are you going to 'hard-on' me to death?"

"What?" Brent asked. I pointed down at his boxers as I said,

"Listen…are you really that desperate?" I walked away trying to hide my smile as Brent quickly retreated back into his room. I shut the door behind me as I laughed at Brent. I stopped as I thought to myself, _'Whoa…did I actually just call Brent out like that? Where did that come from…am I about to start my period or something?' _I paused, walked over to my mirror, and looked. Was I looking thinner? I examined my chin, arms, and butt but I couldn't see any difference…yet.

After I showered and dressed I went downstairs to my basement to get on the computer. Our basement was unfinished and Brent's workout equipment was everywhere. I managed to make a little nook for my computer and things in a corner, away from all of the sweaty equipment. I weaved between the weights and turned on the computer; as I waited for the computer I looked at the workout stuff. Before I felt repulsed by these machines, but today I was intrigued. I grabbed the nearest bar I could find and began to lift. It was pretty easy, so I grabbed more weight and put it on the bar. I continued to lift but the bar was still too light. Time after time I slid more and more weight onto the bar but it was still too easy for me. It was strange how strong my desire was to work out; it was almost like a craving. As I slid the last of the available weights on the bar I realized what I just did; I proceeded in putting ALL of my brother's weights on the bar…and still it was too light. I stood back for a moment as I realized I was lifting over 300 pounds of weight!

"Whoa." I whispered. I put my left hand on the bar; I had to try it, I had to try and lift it with just my arm. I prepared myself for the weight and closed my eyes…I lifted my hand and the bar. I opened my eyes and looked above my head; my left arm was holding up the 300-pound bar. "NO WAY!" I screamed ecstatically as I held the bar over my head. I took the bar in my right hand. "I can't BELIEVE THIS!" I squealed.

"Liz!" Brent startled me and I dropped the weights. They crashed so loudly that I jumped; as I looked at the disheveled weights on the bar Brent shouted again, "What the hell was THAT?" He thundered down the stairs to the basement and yelled, "What the hell are you doing? These weights cost me almost 500 dollars!" He tried to lift the bar with the 300 pounds on it but they wouldn't budge. He rolled the weights off the bar as he asked, "What were you doing anyways?" I shrugged as I said,

"I…uh…I just wanted to see what 300 pounds felt like." Brent looked at me and scowled.

"What an idiot." He rolled away the weights and said, "You put them back, and DON'T BREAK ANYTHING." He stormed up the stairs and I giggled as I picked up the bar. He left about 160 pounds on the bar. I tossed it back and forth between my hands and twirled it between my fingers before placing the bar on its spot. As it sat there I looked and laughed, and then I got an idea. I ran up the stairs and into the garage; there was my brother's pick up. I smiled as I walked to it.

"You know, Dad hates it when Brent parks on this side of the garage." I said to no one. I eyed the truck as I finished, "Maybe I should move it." I walked to the back of the truck bed and stared. I wiped my hands on my pants and stretched a little before saying, "Okay, let's do this." I put my hands under the truck bed and lifted; up came the back of the truck. It felt like nothing! Like I was lifting a box or something! I smiled as I held up the back of the car and walked, pivoting it on its front tires. I dropped the end and thought, _'Well, this might take longer than I thought… why don't I just lift the whole thing?'_ I laughed at the idea until in a moment of ego came to me and I thought, _'Hey, I'm on a roll, why shouldn't I try?'_ So I walked around the pick up, trying to find the best way to lift the car. I opened the front side door, placed a hand under the doorframe and on the roof of the car, and pulled back so that the car leaned on its two left side tires; I squatted, lifted with my legs, and up went the car. "YES!" I exclaimed as I held up the car. It was heavy, not very heavy, but heavy enough to be a challenge. I shuffled backwards and put the car down on the other side of the garage. When the truck was back on all four of its wheels I exclaimed. "YES!"

Suddenly the door to the house opened and my brother came into the garage. "What the hell are you shouting about?" He exclaimed angrily. I stared at him from the other side of the pick up as I stammered,

"I…I found the back to my earring." Brent rolled his eyes and began to walk back inside the house; he stopped examined his car and before asking,

"Didn't I park here last night?" He pointed to the spot where the car used to be. I forced a laugh as I said,

"Ha! HA HA! Brent, honestly, how drunk _were_ you when you came home last night? I'm surprised you even got into the garage straight!" I walked around the car and approached Brent. "I'm just happy you got home safe, big brother." I said to him with fake affection before going inside the house and down in the basement.

The second I was back in the basement I began to jump around and laugh. I couldn't believe what I was capable of! It was incredible! Since when could I play hot potato with 300 pound bars? On that note, since when was I able to hold my own against Brent? Usually I just let him walk all over me but instead I stood my ground! I sat down and began to think, _'What kind of dream is this? Wait this can't be a dream I just had a dream this morning…I don't want this to be a dream.'_ That reminded me…that creepy dream with the thing in the mirror. Suddenly I remembered the black box I found fell out of the monster's mouth. _'The box!'_ I thought and gazed at the palm of my hand. The prick was still there; there was a little red scab where the prick used to be. I touched my finger to the scab as I wondered, _'Did that box do this to me? How?'_ I looked at the ceiling as I exhaled. I heard footsteps walking around upstairs; Brent called down to me,

"Liz, I'm going to Caleb's. I have my phone."

"Alright!" I shouted back. I heard the footsteps go to the garage door and the door slam. I exhaled as I looked down at the floor…where were my legs? I couldn't see my legs. I looked down in shock; I couldn't see my torso, hands or anything. "WHAT!" I exclaimed as I leapt to my feet. I held my hands out in front of me but I couldn't see them. "Oh no…" I whimpered. I brought my hands together; I could feel them but I couldn't see them. I felt like a pair of eyeballs floating in space. "Oh no." I ran to one of the mirrors in the basement; there was no reflection. "AHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I ran up the stairs from the basement and ran all around my house whimpering, "Oh my God, oh my God!" and I looked in every reflective surface I could find. I ran into my kitchen, grabbed the hose from the sink and sprayed myself. "GEEZE THAT'S COLD!" I shouted and let go of the hose and ran into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and there was still no reflection but there were drops of water dangling and dripping in midair. "Great…this is great. I disappeared…how am I supposed to explain this?" I walked out of the bathroom and flopped on the couch, which was really weird because I couldn't see my body on the couch, only the indent that my body made on the cushions. I rolled on my back and shouted, "I'd like to be visible now! Please?"

No matter how much I shouted, ordered, begged, and pleaded I did not become visible again; in fact, I spent the greater part of the day amusing myself as only some one invisible could: I tried on hats so when I looked in the mirror it looked like they were floating in midair, I put on sock puppet shows for myself in the mirror, and I dropped things on me just to see them "hover". I put a towel on my head and stood in front of the mirror as I said unexcitedly, "Woo…I'm a rogue, space towel and I've come to take your gumballs…" Suddenly I heard the garage door open and my dad's voice call,

"Hey, anybody home?" I dropped the towel and whimpered.

"Oh no." I ran up stairs as Dad put away his things. I bolted into my room praying, "I swear if there is a God, please, PLEASE make me visible again! I swear I'll go to church everyday and…and solve world hunger!" I squinted and concentrated as hard as I could. _'Please be visible, please be visible!'_ I thought. I peeked in the mirror and still saw nothing. "GRRRRR!" I growled in frustration.

"Lizzie? Is that you?" my dad called.

"Oh my god!" I whispered as I ran around my room in a panic. My father could hear his daughter but he sure wouldn't be able to see her. "I'm here Dad!" I shouted back. I heard my dad's feet climbing the stairs. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" I moaned as I ran around my room. I had to get out of my room, I jumped over my bed and made for the door but my dad was there first. I froze. _'I'm so screwed, I am SO screwed…'_ were the only words that ran through my brain.

"Lizzie?" he took a few steps into my room. He couldn't see me! I had totally forgotten! I scooted out behind him and held my breath as I walked into the hallway. I ran into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. "Liz?" I heard my dad's voice again. He knew that I was in the bathroom.

"Yeah Dad!" I answered back with fake enthusiasm as I rummaged around the bathroom for anything that could cover me up.

"Oh there you are!" he said through the bathroom door. "What are you doing in there?" I accidentally knocked over the cup that held our toothbrushes and it crashed to the floor.

"Nothing! Nothing Dad!" Suddenly the doorknob began to turn. I was sweating bricks as I watched the door open. _'Oh no, oh no, oh no.'_ I thought as I squinted and waited for my dad's reaction.

"There you are!" My dad said as he hugged me. "How was your day? Nice and relaxing?" I opened my eyes and looked down. I could see my chest again; I glanced in the bathroom mirror and there I was…damp shirt and all. I smiled as I squeezed my dad as I told him,

"Oh dad, not in the slightest."


	6. More than Mediocrity

"Mike, I don't know what else to say; that's what happened…" I fell back on my bed as I held the phone to my ear.

"Liz, Liz, Liz, Liz…I love you, the gig is up…but please, understand-"

"Yes, that's what I want-" I began.

"No…hear me out; you're asking me to believe that in a matter of days you lost ten pounds-"

"Over ten pounds! I woke up this morning and I was another ten pounds lighter." I interrupted. Mike paused and said,

"Okay, whatever…you lost a lot of weight, you juggled three hundred pounds of your brother's weights then proceeded to pick up a car and move it around your garage…" I said nothing as Mike stopped. He took a breath and said, "Oh, _and_ you went invisible and nearly got caught by your dad…did I miss anything?"

"No." I replied.

"Okay, and you think all this happened because of some box you found…in the sewer."

"It was the storm drain, Mike."

"Whatever…the point is that considering all that you've just told me, I would hope that you would understand how hard it is to believe you."

"Why is there a question of whether it's believable or not? It happened! I swear it did! I checked the weights again today; I watched my brother struggle to lift a hundred and fifty pounds on that bar. I lifted three hundred pounds with my left hand! AND I'M RIGHT HANDED MIKE!"

"Okay, okay…" I sighed as Mike said nothing.

"You don't believe me do you?" I asked quietly. Mike replied.

"Liz, I…really I-"

"Mike, can I come over?"

"What?"

"Good. I'll see you in twenty minutes."

"What?"

"Okay, bye." I turned off the phone and grabbed my pillow; I planted my face into it and screamed. After a moment I got up and walked downstairs. "DAD!" I called, "I'm walking over to Mike's to do a project! I'll be back before dinner, okay?"

"Okay Liz! Call me when you get there!" I went out the front door and walked to the apartments where Mike lived. I swore that I walked faster then I normally did; maybe because I was stronger but really I think it was because I was so determined to make my friend believe me. As I walked there I found my emotions going in and out of anger, despite, and sadness towards Mike. Why couldn't he believe me? I'm his best friend! I'd think that a story this weird would be believable _because_ it's out of the ordinary. I was at the bottom of the stairs outside his apartment when I stopped and told myself,

"Who am I kidding? I can barely believe this story myself!" I went up the stairs and knocked on the green door. I tapped my foot as I told myself. _'This is real. I know it is because it's still here today. I can lift three hundred pounds tomorrow and today I could turn invisible and not be able to fix it.'_ These were out of my control. No one answered the door and I growled as I went to knock on the door again. I extended my hand but it didn't hit the door…it went through it along with most of my forearm. I stood stupefied at the sight of my arm inside the door.

"AHHHHHHHH!" I heard Mike scream from inside. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" I quickly pulled my arm out as the door swung open; Mike's eyes looked furious. When his eyes landed on me he shouted, "THAT WAS YOU? YOU DID THAT? HOW THE-" I leapt on him and covered his mouth with my hand.

"Mike shut up!" I told him as I walked inside and shut the door behind me. I let go of him and just stood there and stared. He asked quietly,

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know!" I whined back.

"Did you do that yesterday too?"

"NO!" I closed my eyes and flopped on his futon. "I don't get it Mike! My hand went through your DOOR!" I opened my eyes; Mike leaned against the wall looking totally dumbfounded. "Is this what it's going to be for the rest of my life? Everyday something new comes along? Some hitch?" I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands. "Is your mom home?"

"No. Can you do that again?" Mike asked.

"I can't do it on cue, no." I said bitterly. "I don't even know how I did it the first time! What did I do to make me do that?" I looked at Mike and said, "The hand through the door thing was just like the invisible thing yesterday. I don't know how I did it. One moment I'm there then BAM! Liz is invisible..." I sat up, took a breath, and looked at Mike. "Mike?" I asked, "Now do you believe me? Now do you understand a little?" Mike still stared blankly at me. I stood, took his hand firmly, and dragged him out the door.

"OW! What are you doing? You're hurting me!" Mike exclaimed as we walked. I got to the bottom of the concrete steps and looked around. I had to make him believe me.

"Isn't there a dumpster in the back of this building?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah, but-" Mike stammered in reply.

"Okay." I said and dragged Mike to the back of the building. Lo and behold there was the dumpster, sitting inside of a white fence. I let go of Mike and walked to the dumpster.

"Liz, Liz what are you doing?" Mike asked as he cradled his hand. The dumpster was filled and it smelled awful; I tried not to gag as I walked around to the back. There was rotting trash and bugs back there so I had to be careful where I stepped. "Liz, seriously, what are you doing?"

"Mike!" I yelled as I examined the back of the dumpster, "Watch this!" I bent my knees as I said to myself, _'God I hope this works.'_ I put my hands where I could grip and lifted. I felt the dumpster lift into the air; it was a lot heavier than three hundred pounds. As the huge dumpster leaned into me the smell of rotting garbage filled my nose as trash grease dripped onto my skin; repulsed by this I was motivated to move faster. I waddled with the trash as far as the white fence would let me then shouted at Mike, "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" I lifted the dumpster high and threw it over the fence. I watched as the dumpster flew over the fence and asphalt then into the trees; the dumpster tumbled sending trash everywhere. When it finally stopped rolling it hardly looked like a dumpster any more; it was dented, bent and ruined. I emerged from the white fence and found Mike off to the side; it looked like he was in the process of standing up from cowering. He looked at me with scared eyes as I said, "Now do you believe me?" I was slightly out of breath, but all the adrenaline in my body made me feel warm and excited. Mike stood up slowly and began to walk back to his apartment. He didn't say anything and I felt heart broken. I looked down at the ground and wiped my dirty hands on my jeans.

"Well, are you coming?" he yelled back at me. "If you're coming back in you better shower; I can smell you all the way over here." I sighed in relief as I walked behind Mike to his apartment.

Mike let me shower and lent me some of his mom's clothes. Once I was clean we sat in the kitchen and watched as people slowly gathered around the white fence. People were astounded and baffled by the missing dumpster and were even more shocked to find it destroyed in the field behind the apartments. I drank my glass of water as Mike munched on potato chips. We hadn't said much to each other, (A) because I was positive that Mike was still digesting everything he had just seen and (B) I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. As a patrol officer arrived outside to investigate Mike said to me,

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Huh?" I asked. Mike put aside the bag of chips and explained.

"Well, you can do these things…what are you going to do about it?" I took a large gulp of water before I said,

"Nothing."

"What? Why?"

"Because-" I stopped and rephrased what I was about to say. "I'm capable of these things…you're right, and I don't know what you're suggesting but there's still the fact that I can't…well, I can't really-"

"You can't control these new powers that you mysteriously got." Mike finished for me.

"Yeah, and I still don't know what it means. So I'm not going to do anything." I looked at Mike who had an obvious expression of protest on his face. "And I'm not going to tell anyone. I don't know what else has happened to me. I don't know for sure where these…powers came from. I mean what if tomorrow I become something terrifying? Some weird creature?" Mike laughed and I asked, "What's so funny?"

"You!" he said. "An answer is staring you in the face but you don't want it!" I looked at him, begging him not to suggest what he was going to suggest. "Use it! You could help people! You could save lives! Stop crime!"

"Mike, shut up."

"No! You could do it!"

"You've been watching way too much T.V."

"So what if I have? You can't say the idea of becoming some super hero hasn't crossed your mind…" He was right, the hero idea had crossed my mind but it made no sense to chase that idea. Heroes are for comic books. "Come on Liz, derring-do…heroics…you could do that! I mean look at the Teen Titans! They do it all the time! They save the world! You could do that-"

"Mike stop!" I interrupted loudly. Mike looked at me and I paused before saying, "I'm no good to anyone—including myself—when I can't control these powers…of course I've thought about it too. I see the Teen Titans on the news just as much as you do, but I can't do anything about it. I just need to keep this quiet and forget about it…" I stopped, looked out the window and saw multiple police cars outside. I watched the security, police, and civilian witnesses interact as Mike said to me,

"This is so typical of you Liz." I looked at Mike in surprise.

"What?"

"I'm serious! You freak at the slightest sign of change."

"What?" I replied.

"You do! It's what you're doing now! No matter what I tell you you'll turn it down because that's the way you are! That's how you're thinking right now!" I opened my mouth but Mike cut me off. "You've always been the victim, Liz, and you let it get by so much! It's not right! I know because now, when you are given a chance to be something more than mediocre you're terrified! Wake up Liz! You're bigger than you were before! You're bigger than your brother and you're bigger than other people at school! They're normal and you're exceptional! You're better-"

"NO I'M NOT! I'M NOT ANY BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE!" I stood and screamed. Mike stopped and I held my breath; I couldn't believe that I burst out like that. "Mike…I-I'm-" I stammered but Mike just looked down.

"You're right, Liz." Mike said coolly. He looked up and said, "You are just like everyone else." He walked to the front door and held it open for me. "See you later." I got up and left his apartment. When I was just outside the door Mike said to me, "By the way, I forgot to tell you, you look great. I can tell you've lost weight." With that he shut the door. As I walked down the stairs I felt so awful for yelling. He was trying to help me and I shut him down.

When I got home I fell on my bed and stared at my ceiling. I couldn't believe that he compared me to the Teen Titans. _'They're professionals!'_ I thought, _'They're specially trained! They're…not normal…'_ I remembered what Mike told me: _you're bigger than your brother and you're bigger than other people at school! They're normal and you're exceptional!_ I rolled onto my side and thought on this. After a while I got up and looked into the mirror; I couldn't see much of a difference in my weight. That moment I felt a surge of thanks and gratitude for Mike. He knew me, and he was right; I was hiding behind excuses. Now that I was losing weight I had one less wall to hide behind. _'What ever person this is,'_ I thought as I looked at my reflection, _'this person is me, and this person can throw dumpsters, turn invisible, and ghost through doors.'_ I smiled as I thought, _'You know? Mike could be right…because I see this person…and I think, with a little practice, this person could save a life…a bunch of'em.' _


	7. Signals

Author's note: Hi! I just wanted to thank those of you who have reviewed this story! I deeply appreciate the feedback I have received. Hotshot asked about the kind of story this is going to be. The Titans will be making an appearance and their role in this story is really going to be more than a simple cameo, I promise! This isn't just an origin story; it's a story including an origin story:) Thanks again for the support Hotshot45, GameVeteran69, Sierra Longan, LadyKnight, and yes, I know who you are! ;)

* * *

"Okay, it's okay! What were you doing?" Mike asked. We were on the phone again and I was hysterical.

"I was at the mall with Mary and she was making out with her boyfriend and I was waiting for her to be done and I sneezed and all of a sudden I was in my room! I don't get it! I was at the mall, and then I'm at my house! I don't get it! How does a person do that? I just-"

"Okay, okay, I understand, but, Liz, you need to calm down. Take a breath. Now, are you okay?"

"Yes…"

"Are you in one piece?"

"Yes…"

"Okay, now…"

"But Mike I'm not at the mall anymore!"

"No, honey, you're not…"

"I was at the mall not even a minute ago and now I'm home!" I went on. "I called Mary and told her that I caught a ride home because I wasn't feeling good but that's not the truth! I'm feeling fine! Well, not really fine, I'm scared out of my wits! Ha ha, I'm so scared…"

"I know you are honey; I'm so sorry. I'm going to come over, is that okay?"

"Y-yeah, that's okay. I'm home alone."

"Home alone on a Friday night? You definitely need me to come over. See you in a few." I laughed nervously.

"Okay, bye." I turned off my phone and dropped on my bed. I felt like my skin was crawling; what just happened? For the first time in two weeks I managed to go for a WEEK without accidentally ghosting through something, or breaking something, or turning invisible…then this happened! I wanted to change into my pajamas, get in bed, and never leave my room. I got off the bed and took off my jeans; all of my clothes were too big. I was definitely losing weight and now my pajamas were the only things that fit me properly. What really made my weight loss strange was the fact that I was hungry all the time; I ate so much food that I couldn't understand how I could possibly be losing weight. I would have to have the metabolism of a squirrel or something.

I was in bed watching the news when the doorbell rang. I took my bag of popcorn as I opened the door for Mike. He had a handful of papers in his hands.

"Are you doing any better?" he asked.

"A little…" I replied as I shut the door behind him.

"Okay, because I brought you stuff." He walked to our kitchen, grabbed a glass of water then told me, "Come on, we're going downstairs." I followed mindlessly as Mike got on the computer. Asit loaded he asked, "Hey, you wouldn't mind if you could…uh…"

"What?" I asked. He nodded his head towards the weight bar and his eyes lit up. I rolled my eyes as I collected the weights and tossed them on the bar. Mike jumped up and down in his seat.

"YAY! Now, what's your password?" he asked.

"123qwe." I replied as I put the rest of the weight on the bar. "Are you ready?" I asked. Mike typed in the password, looked at me, and nodded vigorously. I lifted up the bar and lazily tossed it around. Mike squealed as he watched me. "That's three hundred pounds…are you happy now?" I asked.

"Yeah. Thanks Liz." As I put the bar back down I heard him say, "I NEVER get tired of seeing that." He typed a few things then said, "Viola!" I walked over to the computer and saw in big letters "HOW TO BECOME A SUPER HERO".

"Oh, Mike…honestly." I said, totally exasperated.

"Okay listen…" He cleared his throat. "How to become a superhero: Number one! Volunteer or get…involved…hang on a second." I took a seat as Mike clicked around a few times and said, "God, where did that stupid page go?"

"Listen, Mike, I'm sorry but I'm not really-" Mike turned to face me and said,

"Right, point taken…so!" He got out the papers he walked in the door with. "So I brought these." He handed the papers to me and I looked through them. They were sketches of people in costume. Mike's mom was a seamstress and he worked in their tailor shop, so he knew what he was doing when it came to clothes. Any other time I would have been slightly excited but not now. "Aren't they great! I designed them." As Mike talked about his costumes I zoned out…what was he thinking? I just came out of a crisis and he was there exploring costume options for a non-existent alter ego? I put down the papers and walked out of the basement. I went upstairs back to my bed where I cuddled up into a ball. My best friend didn't even care about the fact that I was upset. I heard my door open. Mike walked in and asked jokingly,

"So…I guess you didn't like the drawings?" I didn't reply. Mike sat behind me on the bed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Honey, I'm sorry," He said, "I really spaced that you were having a tough time." I sniffed and he continued, "I've just been really excited about this whole thing, for you, and I wanted to help as much as I can. As for accidentally teleporting around…I can't imagine what that would be like…" _'No kidding…'_ I thought bitterly. I rolled over on to my back and told Mike,

"Mike, thanks for trying to cheer me up. I just…need sleep…" Mike nodded and said,

"Well, sleep tight, okay?" I clenched my teeth as I replied,

"Okay…" Mike left my room and I flipped over on my pillow. I was so frustrated…what next? Flying? I'd accidentally zoom around the city? I thought on that for a moment. _'Flying wouldn't be so bad…'_ I thought. _'Maybe I should cross my fingers and hope for the next freak thing to come along.' _I reached over to my nightstand and turned out my light. The TV lit up my room but I fell asleep anyways.

FLASH

There was silence and cold of outer space all around me. I saw satellites and stars everywhere. Then there was earth and suddenly I zoomed away from it. The stars moved like that screen saver on my computer; I stopped and saw space ships zooming around. There were three small red ships attacking one large steel ship. The large ship maneuvered well for a ship of its size and it was clear that it was fighting a losing battle. The three smaller ships fired yellow lasers at the large ship. That moment words came to my brain: _"Drow attack ships…out numbered…only survivor…seeking reinforcements…" _That moment the ship changed. It became see-through, except for a green haze that appeared to outline it. The three ships zoomed around as if the large ship was no longer in sight. They began to release a white fog from their hulls; at the fog's appearance, the larger ship zoomed away leaving the three ships behind. I moved with the ship and as it moved I heard: _"Sole survivor…reinforcements…will attempt landing…"_ Suddenly earth was back in sight again and the ship and I were slowly approaching.

I woke up to the sound of my television. I rolled onto my back, looked at my ceiling and thought, _'What kind of dream was that?'_ I grabbed my clicker and clicked off the television. I felt dizzy and my head hurt. I reached into the lower drawer of my nightstand and grabbed my bottle of Advil. I didn't know where that headache came from but frankly I didn't like it; last time I got a headache like this was when I had the black box. "Greeeeeeeat…" I moaned as I planted my face in my pillow.

The rest of that day was pretty strange; I felt tired no matter how much coffee I drank. Sure the headache went away but my overwhelming desire to nap was just weird. I ended up napping at least three more times that day and each time I dreamt a similar dream. The see-through ship neared earth each time I dreamt and I heard more and more about "attempting to land" and "reinforcements". I decided not to call Mike and tell him about it. After last night with the web site and the costumes, who knew what crazy idea he'd come up with? Of course, being a Saturday, it was chore day, and tired or not I still had to clean house.

"Uh, Liz?" Amy asked me on the phone. "You've been acting weird…" I was mopping the floor as I talked with her.

"What? What do you mean?"

"You're…just…you seem worried about something. I mean…is there something going on that you want to talk about? Because-" I replied over confidently,

"Amy, there's nothing wrong. I can't sleep so I've been dragging butt. That's it. I'm actually surprised that you said something." I dipped the mop in water and wrung it out.

"Liz. You're my friend. I notice stuff." I smiled as she laughed. "Besides, everybody gets stuff on their minds. That's why friends are there: to help. At least…I'm here anyways." I laughed. I really did have stuff on my mind. Today I was tired but that wasn't why I was acting weird the last few weeks. The real reason was because I didn't want to accidentally turn invisible in the hallway or accidentally ghost through my locker, and now I was paranoid that every time I sneezed I would teleport somewhere.

"Amy, thanks…I really appreciate you asking. I promise nothing is wrong."

"Okay, but if I hear about some girl running around saving the world then I'm going to start asking some questions!" She laughed innocently and I forced a laugh.

After I proceeded to vacuum the house, mop the floor, dust the rooms, clean the bathrooms, and wash the towels, I was done with my chores. I had to do so much because Brent was out of town for a "Student Council Convention" AKA a huge party at Henry's beach side condo. It was a three-day weekend so there was "no way" Brent could do his chores. I crashed on my couch with a bag of craisins and I watched some music videos. I was still tired. As the perky pop music played in the background my eyelids got heavy and I fell asleep

"_Not much power…will…landing…need food… supplies_" The voice said as the see-through ship entered the earth's atmosphere. The hull turned red from the heat of entry and I watched the ship zoom toward North America, then the west coast, then California. I watched the lights of Los Angeles pass beneath us. The ship was getting closer and closer to the ground at an accelerating speed. _'Is it supposed to go that fast when it lands?' _I wondered as I watched. I was amazed to see the ship zoom over my school and into an abandoned car lot. The ship crashed through piles of rusted cars and then finally land down on Earth. When the ship finally stopped skidding a few walls of cars fell around it and a cloud of dirt went into the air. I heard one last time: "_Need help…contact…food…this is Gamma19…please…_"

"Gosh you must have worked really hard today…" I awoke to see my dad sitting by me with a hand on my shoulder. I rubbed my eyes as he said, "Thanks for cleaning today."

"You're welcome." I replied groggily. My dad asked,

"Do you want to go upstairs? To bed?" I opened my mouth but this time the dream really left an impression. Whatever was in the ship, whatever "Gamma19" was, it needed help. My overwhelming sense of curiosity began to scheme as I replied,

"Yeah, I think I will." My dad smiled as he said,

"Okay!" As he helped me to my feet I decided to sneak out of my house. If the dream was accurate then I knew where the ship was. There was a junkyard a few blocks away from my school. I'd go there on my bike and check it out, I had super powers…I could handle anything…


	8. Delving

It was a really easy bike ride to the junkyard that night. Let me explain one of the perks of being really strong: you can pedal really fast! I arrived, after sneaking out, and rode around the fence; it was tall and the top was lined with barbed wire. I checked the gate to see if I could slip through but chains were keeping it closed; my next option was to climb the chain link and over the barbed wire…or was it? I could try to ghost through it. I threw my bike over the fence; I jumped when it crashed on the ground and I ran from the fence. Some was bound to hear that noise so I hid in some nearby bushes for a few moments. I looked around to make sure no one heard it and got out of the bush. I walked back to the fence and I prepared myself to run through the chain link. I shook my hands and jumped from foot to foot.

"Okay, okay." I said as I psyched myself up. I was frustrated when I ghosted through Mike's door; I had to get pissed. I took a few steps back. "Let's get pissed." I said to no one and charged at the fence. I shut my eyes as the fence got closer and CRASH! I ran headfirst into the chain link and it sprung me back onto the ground. I sat up and said, "Okay. That was stupid." I looked around again to make sure no one heard me then climbed the fence. When I was inside I checked my bike; it wasn't damaged, but my jeans were. The barbed wire had caught my jeans and ripped them; I looked up and saw denim stuck on the wire. I grumbled about the rip in my jeans as I wheeled my bike behind a pile of scrap metal. As soon as I finished hiding my bike I heard footsteps in the dirt.

"Oh no." I said and I jumped inside of a rusty car; it was at the bottom of a wall of cars so I was cautious as I crouched down on what was left of the undercarriage. I held my breath for a few moments then peeked through the car window. There was a dark haired boy in a cape walking by. He wore a red shirt and green pants. I had to stop myself from gasping as I realized who it was. _'Robin!' _I thought excitedly then questioned, _'But, what's he doing here?…the SHIP? Could that be why he's here?'_ I watched Robin walk to the spot where I landed; he squatted and observed the ground. _'Crap, I bet he can see my foot prints!'_ He looked up at the fence, then down to where I landed, then over to where I hid my bike. He walked over to where my bike was; I couldn't see him because of where I was sitting but I assumed that he had found my bike. _'Crap, I have to get out of here!'_ I looked around; the car was parallel to two other cars. If I could climb through the three cars and get out on the other side I'd be clear. I quietly climbed out of the first car and into the second, then into the third. I heard something behind me so I dropped down on the lumpy seats and waited. I looked into the dangling rearview mirror and saw the silhouette of Robin looking into the first car.

He looked around for a while; far a moment I thought he saw me through the rearview mirror then…he left. I sighed in relief as I slowly climbed out of the last car. It was dark on that side of the cars; the utility lights didn't shine here. I looked around, brushed myself off and thought, _'Okay, no more loud noises.' _I walked around until I heard a voice; I quickly jumped behind a pile of spare parts. When I peeked around it I saw a girl wearing a navy cape and hood. She spoke to something in her hand,

"I haven't seen anything either." _'That's Raven…the Teen Titans are here. I'm going to get so busted!'_ I heard other voices, though it sounded like they were coming out of a walkie-talkie or something.

"How is it we can't find an ENORMOUS spaceship?" Asked a black guy's voice. "Are you sure we're looking in the right place?"

"Positive," replied a boy's voice, "The scans said this is the place where the ship crashed."

"And why do we care about a huge spaceship that crashed here from outer space?" asked a third boy's voice.

"Because we don't know where it's from or why it crashed here…the alien could be hostile." The second boy answered.

"Geeze, for ONCE couldn't we run into an alien that wanted to be nice? You know, plant flowers and bake cookies and stuff?" the third boy whined.

"Not likely…" Raven said. _'So there is a real space ship! It wasn't just a dream!'_ I thought to myself happily.

"Robin, what was the noise we heard?" Asked another girl's voice, a really perky girl's voice.

"I have my ideas, but I don't think we're alone."

"No we aren't." A black guy's voice came from right behind me. I turned around and behind me was a huge man; he looked like he was half machine and his mechanical parts glowed. _'CYBORG!' _I thought. A bright light from his shoulder shone in my eyes. I tried to run but the mechanical man caught my hand. "Hey, who are you?" I pulled as hard as I could to get away and Cyborg came along with me. "WHOA!" Cyborg exclaimed as I pulled him, "You're strong!"

"Let me GO!" I shouted. From behind him I heard a voice.

"Azareth Metreon Zinthos!" suddenly the cars next to me were surrounded by black and mysteriously outlined in white. The cars moved in front of me blocking my path. I turned around and saw Raven in the air behind Cyborg and me. I took Cyborg's arm and pulled him over me.

"What are you doing! HEY!" He shouted as I lifted him into the air and threw him off of me. That moment I saw a flash of green and something exploded at my feet. I screamed and jumped back; I looked up and saw Starfire flying above me with glowing green eyes and fists.

"You will not hurt my friend!" She said. I tried to run another way but in my path was a huge green gorilla. It snorted and pounded its fists on the ground. Finally Robin dropped right in front of me with his metal staff ready; he said, "I don't know who you are or what planet you're from but we won't let you start any trouble, got it?"

"What?" I asked in a scared voice.

"Yeah, you go back to whatever planet you came from." I looked and the green gorilla was gone, now a small green boy was standing next to me. It was Beast Boy! It took a few seconds for me to calm myself and say,

"Listen, I'm from…here. Not outer space!"

"Yeah right!" I heard Cyborg shout from behind Robin. "Did you see what she did? She tossed me like I was a rag doll!"

"Humans can't toss around hundreds of pounds of Cyborg." Beast Boy said.

"I don't know what game you're playing but you can't pretend you're human anymore." Robin said defensively.

"Robin is right!" said Starfire courageously.

"But I'm not kidding! I'm from Earth! Not outer space! I live just a few blocks from here!"

"Listen, alien, do you know who we are?" Cyborg asked angrily.

"Of COURSE I do! You're the Teen Titans!" I shouted. "You're Robin, and you're Beast Boy, and you're Raven, and you're Cyborg, and you're Starfire! I see you all on the news all the time!" I crossed my arms as I finished, "And I'm not an alien!"

"She's not lying." Raven said as she landed on the ground. Robin and Beast Boy took a step back as Starfire landed on the ground too. "She's not the alien."

"But she's still suspicious." Robin said.

"What's your name?" Beast Boy asked. I didn't want to say my real name so I told them the partial truth.

"Nicole."

"Why are you here Nicole?" Robin asked.

"I was looking for my dog. I thought I saw him go in here." I replied.

"Why would you hide yourself from us if you knew of us from the television report?" Starfire asked.

"Because people aren't allowed in here. I figured if you guys found me I would get busted." I replied honestly.

"HOW ARE YOU SO STRONG!" Shouted Cyborg. This was really uncomfortable.

"You're right," Robin said, "People aren't allowed in here. Right now this place could be especially dangerous. You should go." I didn't want to go, I wanted to find the ship!

"Okay, I'll go." I said. Robin nodded and asked,

"Do you know how to get out from here?" I nodded and replied,

"I'm sure I can figure it out. Thanks." I walked past them and towards the fence. I followed the fence knowing that if I followed it I would eventually get to the front. I looked up at the sky and thought, _'Well, this was a royal waste of time.' _That moment I tripped and fell on an outstretched pipe. I lay there for a few moments then pushed myself up by my hands; I couldn't see my hands or my arms. I had turned invisible again. _'Great.'_ I thought sarcastically as I stood. I gasped as I realized, _'Wait. I'm invisible. They can't see me! I don't have to leave! I can still look for the ship!'_ I got to my feet and ran back in the direction I came. I passed the place were the Titans were and continued toward the back.

I walked around the entirety of the junkyard and saw no see-through ship; I sat down on a pile of scrap metal. The Titans had already left the junkyard; they left about half an hour prior to this. I yawned and stretched; I was getting tired. I got up to leave and as I took my first step I heard a whistling noise. I looked but saw no one. I waited for a while to see if I saw anything and suddenly behind a car I saw a hazy green figure. It was big, like Cyborg, but see-through and outlined just like the space ship. I watched the thing wave its arms and motion me to follow. I followed until we came to an enormous pile of cars. I had undoubtedly passed the pile at least twenty times and I was skeptical until the thing knocked on one of the cars. Suddenly white light poured out of an opening suspended in midair. It was the ship! The ship was hidden beneath the pile of cars. The light opened into a door and the thing whispered.

"Come on! Quick!" I couldn't move. I stood staring at the light door until the thing grabbed me and pulled me into the light.


End file.
